


Fading shadows

by Oshusta



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Acceptance, Beta Derek Hale, Comfort, Geekiness, M/M, Post Season 3, Post-Nogitsune Stiles Stilinski, Pre-Relationship, Topic avoidance, light banter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-08
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-09-22 16:42:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9616424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oshusta/pseuds/Oshusta
Summary: Maybe Stiles shouldn't be lying alone on the lacrosse pitch next to the forest, where the monsters crawled out of, but with a mentality to suit the normally so gloomy days, who was he to waste such good weather in a classroom?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo...this was something hanging around iand I didn't know what to do with it so I brushed it up aaaaaand...voila.  
> It is unbetaed, even though I did scan it like a robot, so dong hesitate to tell me if I've got errors.
> 
> Also I had to come up with a super symbolic name because the original title was "Skittles"

Stiles honestly couldn't find the motivation to enter the school anymore. For him, exiting the building not a week ago still wasn't long enough, but alas, he hadn't grown any older than eighteen yet.

And although the events of the Nogitsune left everybody reeling, they all had to continue with their lives, which was both a relief and an annoyance in itself. The sheriff had secured Beacon Hills and made sure border security was as vigilant as ever, and the were-creatures chose to patrol their own supernatural borders for peace of mind.

Nothing would be coming there any time soon, though. There was rumour that the older, more established packs thought the Beacon Hills sector was cursed.

Scott seemed to fret about it, but Derek hadn't been too fussed with the other packs insulting his family's rightful territory. He had said, plain and simple, that the rumour was more in their favour because it would keep rival packs from coming on to the land, which was the last thing Scott and the pack needed. He may be a True Alpha, but he was still new to the ways of pack leadership.

Which was why Stiles wasn't too worried about sitting alone on the lacrosse pitch, right beside the forest of the preserve, where monsters came from. He knew the worst that would come out of there now were average, every day, human psychopaths. Or Peter.

He was just enjoying the sun that had finally shown its beautiful head for once. Who was he to waste a day like this? He certainly would not do it in the classrooms. He still couldn't sleep properly, so every time he started to doze off in class the lights would flicker, and then come on again when he snapped back to attention.

A shadow fell across him, cutting him off from his source of warmth and distracting him from his flickering thoughts.

With a groan, Stiles leaned up, shading his eyes to get a good look because the beautiful sun was blocking his view of the person's face, but the figure was achingly familiar.

Derek. Of course Stiles hadn't heard Derek approach, due to his ballerina-light-footing.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" Derek asked, peering down at him.

"Shouldn't you be off brooding somewhere?" Stiles retorted, "Oh no, that's right– character development."

Derek shot him a quizzical glance, crouching beside him where he was lying on the grass of the lacrosse pitch.

"I was pretending to break the fourth wall, calm down," Stiles snarked, rolling his eyes at the werewolf, "Some warning noise next time?"

"I made plenty of noise, and you're not Deadpool," Derek muttered, sitting on the ground next to him, his legs stretched out as he leant back on his hands. Stiles averted his eyes, his throat going dry. It was times such as this, when Derek wasn't being an asshole, that Stiles could actually appreciate him as a person– not just for his appearance. Although, Derek seemed to have matured over the course of months Stiles knew him, so that was a win. 'What are you doing out here, Stiles?'

"Uh, first of all, I had no idea you knew who Deadpool is."

"How uncultured do you think I am? Should I be offended?"

Stiles couldn't believe he was having this conversation. He sat straighter up so Derek wasn't speaking down to him, and let out a huge yawn, electing not to reply to him for the moment. Derek leant forward and bumped his shoulder into Stiles', no doubt noticing how unusual Stiles was being in his silence.

"You didn't answer my question," Derek prompted.

"Oh, yeah. You definitely should be offended," Stiles replied. Derek gave him a half-assed glare.

"You know what I meant." He grumbled grumpily, which was much more in character.

"That's more like it, sour-puss," Stiles chirped, "Besides, I could ask the same thing. Why are you here again? Maintenance or school staff, good forbid, is going to notice you popping up and realise how weird it is. You know once you graduate, you don't usually come back to school– unless you're a teacher. Do you want to be a teacher, Derek? Because I'm pretty sure you'd terrify the children rather than actually teach them anything–"

"Nobody notices me, I make sure of it," Derek interrupted, looking at him as if that were obvious. He ignored his other questions, typically, and Stiles rolled his eyes.

"Because you're all subtle and stuff,'" Stiles retorted, "Not to be the bearer of bad news, Derek, but you don't look like a teenager anymore, especially not with the beard you're brandishing like a weapon."

"I thought you liked the beard," Derek said, frowning.

"I never said I didn't!" Stiles protested. Once again, Derek only picked up the negativity from his words– though Stiles couldn't really blame him. It was all part of the fact they had been through literal living hell.

"Answer my question," Derek said again, more sternly.

"Fine," Stiles huffed, relenting, "My dad wants me to go to school, so I go to school. I just don't go to class."

"Because...?" Derek said, urging him to continue. Stiles narrowed his eyes at him, but nevertheless continued. Finally, Stiles relented with a frustrated burst.

"I can't go in there! All of the memories of the Nogitsune..." Stiles said, trailing off. Enough said. But it wasn't just the memories, it was the after effect that the whole experience left. It was too soon for him.

The sheriff had thought it would be good for Stiles to get back into the rhythms of his regular old life immediately so he wouldn't dwell on the darkness still lingering. His motive was all well and good...but his son couldn't focus. Heck, he barely could on a good day before all the drama ensued, how could he hope to now?

Derek didn't saying anything, and when Stiles looked at him he realised that he was watching him with an unreadable expression.

"What?"

"Nothing," Derek replied, relaxing minutely. It was as if the answer Stiles had given him had satisfied him, and it unnerved Stiles to no end.

"Derek, spit it out," Stiles snapped when Derek didn't look away. Derek signed, but relented, which Stiles considered a success.

"I wasn't expecting you to answer honestly," Derek replied "I know it's hard admitting reasons for trauma, especially to me."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't need the illusion of subtlety, Stiles," Derek retorted sharply, eyed narrowed, "We weren't exactly on par with each other, especially not about our pasts with family deaths."

"I didn't think you'd notice," Stiles said, trying for sarcastic but instead sounding pathetic.

"Sorry," Derek winced.

Stiles sighed. "It's okay. Besides, I've hidden my issues enough, and although I don't want to shove my problems onto other people, I can't ignore them like I used to. I've found out that makes everything worse, and it may lead to being possessed by a demonic spirit."

Derek let out a dramatic huff, and Stiles let out a sharp laugh. The two for once sat in companionable silence, enjoying the weather that was neither too hot nor cool.

"Do you want me to take you somewhere?" Derek asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?" Stiles asked, confused. Since when did Derek ever want to take him anywhere?

"I don't know, away from school," he paused, eyeing Stiles, "Wherever you want to go."

"Oh," Stiles muttered, his eyebrows creasing slightly in a frown. "Why?"

Derek sighed, shaking his head. "Someone will probably come looking for you and force you back inside so I thought I might take you somewhere you won't be bothered. And if you leave with your car someone will definitely notice. But it doesn't matter." He said shortly, his face going expressionless. He stood up, brushing off his jeans and turning to look down upon Stiles, "I can leave."

"No!" Stiles exclaimed, struggling to sit up, and getting to his feet ungracefully. He grabbed Derek's arm, even though he hadn't moved, to make sure he didn't race off without him. "Please, get me out of here."

Derek relaxed in Stiles' hold, giving a nod and a small smile. "Lets go then."

"You know, I get that you're a werewolf and everything, but how is it that you're so graceful on your feet?" Asked Stiles, speeding up his pace to keep up with Derek's long strides.

"As if I'm telling you," retorted Derek with a smirk.

"Oh, ha ha, laugh at the skinny human who struggles at standing up," he said sourly.

He felt Derek's hand grab the base of his neck and give it a small shake, his hold firm but gentle. It sent shivers down Stile's spine.

He thought ahead for a moment, wondering if Derek would come to his rescue every time he decided to skip his classes. Probably not, but he could bask in the moment and worry about his issues later, (since brushing them off-handedly is all he's good at).

For now, Stiles had to figure where he could hide in public without a nosy local telling the Sheriff.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! My name is Basteelie on tumblr if you'd liek to talk to me. And leave a kudos if you liked ;)


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